Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260044
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Wednesday the New River Health Department came up with a new twist on automotive convenience: the McFlu Shot.
Public health nurses set up a parking lot immunization clinic at the Park Street United Methodist Church, and gave shots to folks who drove through. Most of them never had to get out of the car.
"It's just wonderful," said Elton Davis. "I'd like to see more of this. They should set up where I live, in Shawsville."
Davis was on his way to buy paint when he saw a sign advertising the shots. He got a flu shot for $7, left to borrow $15, then drove his pickup truck back for a pneumonia shot.
"Well worth it," he concluded.
Other people trying to avoid cold-season bugs read about the outdoor clinic in the paper. By midafternoon Wednesday, 45 people had been immunized and the cars kept rolling through.
The idea was to bring the shots to the people who need them acutely - particularly the elderly or handicapped - said Ruth Wolford, a nurse supervisor with the Montgomery County Health Department who organized the event.
Like many others, Wolford has elderly grandparents who have difficulty getting to the doctor's office or to the Health Department for shots. And older people or those with physical problems are the most likely to suffer the most from influenza.
"I knew the difficulty," Wolford said. "This is our opportunity to get out into the community."
The drive-by flu shots are a first for this area and perhaps for the entire state, said Dr. Jody Hershey, director of the New River Health District.
Yet the event seemed to go painlessly, with the Health Department adhering to its goal of taking no more than 15 minutes to give each customer a shot.
Nurses took patient histories, administered the shots, collected money and served refreshments, all at various stations in the church's parking lot.
Sometimes the shots were given to driver and passengers simultaneously. "Flu shots to go," joked one customer.
The Health Department recommends flu shots for anyone age 65 or older and anyone who has persistent illnesses or is exposed to someone who does. Now is the time to take the preventive step, before flu season begins, Wolford said.
About 2,500 shots have been administered so far this season in Hershey's district, which includes Montgomery, Pulaski, Giles and Floyd counties and Radford. That's only about one resident for every 62.
Faced with virulent influenza viruses and that kind of low saturation rate, the Health Department's need to think and act creatively was clear.
"We're really pleased," said Hershey, as he watched all the sleeve-rolling. "The best way to protect against the flu is vaccinations."
Possibly the Health Department will expand this experiment to other days and other parts of the New River Valley. "We measure success in terms of community response," Wolford said.
by CNB